There is a lot going on around us in the computing world besides serving webpages. Today I was looking for some open source software to train with and classify images. Most people pointed to Tensorflow. Which is written in C++ but all examples and usage are on python (liaks). "Why is that?" many people asked on forums far and wide. We have the ultimate tool written in C++ but do we need to command it via py***? That's right. You write your model in @&*£?*! and it is executed by calling C++ functions or perhaps execs. Most data manipulation is done within these C++ calls. For example you have a training dataset of a million 20-vectors. You want to train a classifier with it and also test it. In @&*£?*! call train_and_test(mydataset,80,20) which takes your data, splits it 80/20%, the first for training the rest for testing and returns back assessment statistics and the classifier weights. So, just a glorified glue.

Here is a bright future for Perl: a glue for ML apps. Can it do it?

Yes, it can be done with Perl. <boast mode on>I have done it, training an assembly of hundreds of neural networks. But I did not do RPC or inline function calls. Just calling executables for data manipulation (e.g. split a dataset in train/test cases randomly etc.) or neural network training.

So, why is @&*£?*! out there driving a Mercedes Benz and Perl is shtack at serving webpages?

I started researching and found out that's my lovely Perl is stuck in the past in regards to ML support and there's no any recent developments in this area (like full last decade).

Now look at Python! Tensorflow, MXNet, Keras, Theano, Caffe, and many, many more. Java has it's deeplearning4j, Lua has Torch and what had Perl ? 

by Sergey Kolychev, from http://blogs.perl.org/users/sergey_kolychev/2017/02/machine-learning-in-perl.html

I will dare a sacrilegious over-statement and say that it does not matter whether there are function protos or automatic parameter checking in Perl. Although this are great enhancements. But maybe (and in my opinion) the real future lies in being out there along with these big ML efforts providing the glue and improving Perl (along the lines of function prototyping and other things) on the way.

Digression: I am not saying that what ML is out there by these big corporates is set on stone or is The ML. It is not. It is old stuff we ruminate on because we can afford it with our brand new teeth and that brute-forcing brings results soon to stall, again. I am just waiting around the corner, pie in hand, for that new Minsky and his risky predictions.

So, how can this be achieved?

More ML training and demos in meditations and, please, more ML posts in the Monastery.

That @&*£?*! really does not deserve all that attention. Help liberate that hardware running @&*£?*!

Sure, let all flowers blossom and black cat white cat what does it matter as long as it catches mice. But there are also aesthetics and power consumption.

bw, bliako